Oculus Education, a department of Facebook’s VR specialist dedicated to expanding the tech’s use as a tool for learning, is already bringing headsets to libraries in California and partnering with a number of other institutions. Today, it adds three more projects to its list.
The company today announced Oculus Education pilot programmes for Taiwan, Seattle and Japan, all with different objectives. In Taiwan, for example, Oculus is donating Rift and Go headsets to the Taiwan Internet and E-Commerce Association (TiEA), who will then send them out to libraries and museums across the country. Each will have the freedom to decide how to best use the tech for the good of the community.
In Seattle, meanwhile, Oculus is partnering with the Ballard High School and Franklin High School for a collaborative project in which students will create their own educational VR content which itself will be used in classrooms. Under teacher supervision, kids will have the coming school year to build out their apps. Oculus is also training educators in how to use VR via a partnership with the Technology Access Foundation (TAF).
Finally, in Japan Oculus is currently planning a scheme that focuses on VR for distance learning, connecting students in more remote parts of the country to teachers to give them a higher standard of education.
As part of today’s announced, Oculus is also launching three new educational experiences for home-based VR users. The first is Titanic VR, which we reviewed last week and lets you explore the wreck of the legendary vessel. You can also experience Breaking Boundaries in Science, which explores the contributions three women have made in their respective fields, and Hoover Dam: IndustrialVR, which gives you a virtual tour of the mammoth facility.
